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The Man From FCPA

The Man From FCPA is a blog about enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery statutes around the world, written primarily by Compliance Week columnist Tom Fox plus other occasional contributors. Fox is now an independent consultant assisting companies with FCPA and compliance issues, after many years as in-house counsel and outside counsel on anti-bribery and corruption issues. Fox also hosts a weekly podcast, “The FCPA Compliance and Ethics Report,” and writes an in-depth monthly column for Compliance Week as well.

Jorge Luis Arzuaga, a former managing director at the Swiss bank Julius Baer, pled guilty to having arranged the transfers of more than $25 million in bribes for corrupt FIFA officials. This is the first guilty plea in the plethora of service provides who facilitated the massive corruption scandal engaged in by FIFA officials.

Last week Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the Justice Department has decided to prosecute the company for a criminal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. When you look at the facts of the misconduct, a declination seems a bit far-fetched, but our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, takes a closer look at the case and its teachable moments anyway.

The Chinese fight against bribery and corruption took an interesting twist earlier this month, when it was announced that the former head of the national oil company, Sinopec, was being investigated for bribery and corruption in the securing of contracts in Angola. If this investigation continues it could open a new and very different phase of China’s fight against corruption. Details inside.

One of the continuing myths around FCPA enforcement is so-called “springing liability,” where a company that acquires a business also acquires a FCPA violation along with the purchase. That is not an accurate understanding of the issue, our anti-corruption blogger Tom Fox writes. But it does touch on issues of ill-gotten gains from FCPA violations, and what liability companies face for that misconduct. Now Mondelez Interational may find out. More inside.

FIFA seems to be getting serious about the perception that its organization is rife with corruption. Last week it suspended three of its top officials, including President Sepp Blatter. Those suspensions come one week after major sponsors demanded FIFA take action. Our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, has more inside.

Last week another huge shift in the compliance world happened: the Schrems decision by the European Court of Justice, finding that the previously presumed European Union Safe Harbor regime is invalid. For the anti-corruption compliance practitioner, the decision is double-trouble when you consider it in light of the recent Yates Memo. CW anti-corruption blogger Tom Fox has more inside.

Four of FIFA’s largest sponsors have called on the group’s president, Sepp Blatter, to resign immediately given his role in possible misconduct at the soccer organization. (Blatter is now under criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors.) That business-driven pressure, Compliance Week blogger Tom Fox (left) says, might be the first indicator that professional soccer will get serious about cleaning up its misbehavior. More inside.

An interesting development reported this week: The United States and China have agreed to cooperate on the seizure of assets obtained through corruption and on the deportations of Chinese nationals from the United States who engaged in bribery and corruption in China and later fled to America for sanctuary. It may not end there. Our Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, has more inside.

Talk in corporate compliance circles lately has been dominated by the United States and publication of the Yates Memo, where the Justice Department will be pushing for more prosecution of individuals. The real bite for compliance, however, might be happening in Europe, where regulators are moving against the chiefs at both Volkswagen and FIFA. Our anti-corruption blogger Tom Fox reads more of the tea leaves inside.

Corporate scandals come in many forms, and can violate any number of federal statutes. For compliance officers, however, some key phrases—such as one that has turned up in scandals including Volkswagen and Hewlett-Packard—are the words that should guide your program. When employees utter them, they need to know what to do next. Tom Fox, our Man From FCPA has more inside.

The Yates Memo issued by the Justice Department last week, insisting that companies work much harder to help prosecute individuals if they want to receive cooperation credit, is likely to be a sea change in how compliance officers must address problems like Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations. Our FCPA blogger Tom Fox has more inside.

For those in the FCPA world I would like to focus on one aspect of the court’s ruling: consistency in discipline. In Brady’s appeal, the court was highly critical of the fact that the NFL policy for discipline for first offenses involving equipment violations would result in fines rather than suspensions. Further in all previous discipline involving “equipment violations results in a fine of $5,512.” The NFL suspended Brady for four games with an attendant loss of salary at approximately $1 million.

Rarely in compliance do you see a CEO resignation as unceremonious as the ouster earlier this week of now former head of United-Continental, Jeff Smisek (left). While his removal doesn’t involve foreign government officials—only local ones at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey—it does provide some FCPA lessons. The Man From FCPA, Tom Fox, has more inside.

Many Europeans wonder why the U.S. Justice Department does not prosecute foreign officials who receive bribes in violation of the FCPA. The reason, according to CW blogger Tom Fox, is that the FCPA is a supply-side law that does not criminalize the receipt of bribes. But the Justice Department has other law enforcement tools available: On Monday, the agency announced a criminal prosecution against Russian national Vidam Mikerin for his role in a bribery scheme involving Russian exporting firm Tenex. Details inside.

Gerald Green, one of the few individuals who went to trial against the Justice Department in a case where the government alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, passed away last week. Green and his wife Patricia were convicted in 2009 of conspiring with others to bribe a Thailand official. Notably, they were the only husband and wife ever convicted of FCPA offenses. More inside.

FIFA, the governing body for professional soccer that is mired in controversy and allegations of corruption, may be taking the first steps to transparency and better performance: The group has hired an outside law firm to conduct an exhaustive look at its business practices and to review possible corrupt acts. Columnist Tom Fox takes a closer look at FIFA’s move to hire an external counsel to conduct its internal investigation. Details inside.

The Justice Department and SEC jointly announced an enforcement action on Wednesday against a former executive of SAP International for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing officials in Panama to win government contracts. Vicente Eduardo Garcia, 65, will pay damages totalling $92,300 and faces sentencing later this year. More inside.

Today, I begin a blogging series for Compliance Week as The Man From FCPA. Our goal is to provide you with up-to-date information on all things related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-corruption overall. I will cover FCPA issues that have a U.S.-centric focus, and also other anti-corruption issues and anti-corruption regimes going forward. I hope you will join me in the adventure.